Female urinal.



M. M.v VAN VEGHTENQ FEMALE URINAL.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 3, 19.08.

94 ,756, Patented Nov. 23, 1909.

Wiinesses; ML W UNTTE $1 *rnr r on.

FEMALE URINAL.

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To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MABEL MASON VAN V ECHTEN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Female Urinals, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a female urinal, and the main object of the invention is to provide a device of this class which can be readily used by female invalids while in a recumbent position without danger of soiling the coverings of a'bed and without disturbing the position of the patient. Devices of this class have heretofore, so far as I am aware, had but a limited use and have proven unsatisfactory in actual practlce.

The principal feature of the invention is a relatively long and narrow hollow member, preferably tubular in form, having a long relatively narrow slot in one side thereof, the side edges of the slot being rounded and preferably turned inward, for the double purpose of avoiding injury to the patient and of forming passages or channels for the reception and flow of the urine. This inlet opening and the urinal as a whole may be made in various sizes. Difierent speciesof the same general type of urinal may also be made, each embodying the main feature just described. Two principal species will usually be employed, one of which may be used in two of the three main positions that an invalid usually assumes on a bed, while the other may be used when the patient is in any one of the three positions. These three positions are: recumbent on the right side, on left side, and on the back. For the first two of these positions a simple tube with an opening of the proper type in the side there-.

of is sufiicient. For the third position, however, it is necessary to provide the urinal with a lateral extension or its equivalent in order to provide a proper discharge outlet for the urine.

These and other features of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a front elevation of a female urinal of the simplest type embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same; Fig. 3 is a front View of a modified tapering urinal embodying said invention; Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the same; Fig. 5

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 3, 1908.

Patented Nov. 23, 1909.

Serial No. 436,366. a

straight cylindrical tube having a long' opening or slot in one side thereof. This opening is designated generally by 3. The shape of this opening should be such as to conform to that of the vulva of the invalid, and the edges of the opening should 'be slightly rounded so as to avoid injury to the patient. The rounding of these edges is indicated at 4 on the sides of the opening, and

at 5 and 6 on the upper and lower edges of the same- It is also important that the long edges of the opening 3'be so shaped as to form internal channels or passages for the reception and efflux of the urine, in order that there may be no danger of soiling of the bed while the urinal is in use. These internal channels are not illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 except by the external formation of the walls of the tube at the edges of the opening 3, but are illustrated in Fig. 7 at 7, these channels being substantially iden tical in all of the specific forms of device illustrated in the drawings. It will also be noticed that not only is the slot 3 a long opening of slightly rounded or elliptical contour, but that it curves inward from its ends toward the center as viewed in side elevation (see Fig. 2) in order that it may lie close up against the patient. Thus said opening is curved not only lengthwise but crosswise of the utensil.

A female urinal of this type can be employed to advantage chiefly when the invalid is lying either on the right side or on the left side, in which case the article when in use will be in a substantially horizontal position, slightly inclined, and elevated a sufficient distance above the bed-sheet to permit drainage into a suitable receptacle, which may or may not be attached to one end of the urinal, asmay be desired. In use, one end of the urinal will be held bythe nurse or other attendant, or by the patient, if she is able to do so, and the other end will be in proper relation with a suitable vessel for receiving the urine. The opening 3 will be so placed as to entirely surround the vulva and the labia, and when properly placed in position so as to inclose these parts and when firmly pressed against the patient, it will be impossible for urine to escape either at the sides or at the ends of the opening 3, as I have established in the regular use of the urinal with invalids.

Referring now to Figs. 3 and 4, these illustrate a modification of the type just described, a tapered or conical tube 2 being used instead of the straight tube shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The opening 3 in this conical tube and the side and end walls thereof are in all substantial respects identical with the corresponding parts before described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2 and they are designated by corresponding reference characters. The principal difference between these two species of urinal is that in the straighttube type when the side-wall that is in contact with the patient is in a horizontal position there is no drainage, and the device as a whole has to be slightly tipped to assure drainage, and in this case it may also be necessary to slightly shift the position of the patient, whereas with the type of device shown in Figs. 3 and 4, when one wall of this is in a horizontal position in contact with the patient the other wall will be inclined sufficiently to assure drainage without tipping the tube and without disturbing the position of the patient to the slightest extent. This type of urinal may also have its discharge end either connected with or placed over a suitable receptacle for the urine.

The two types of devices just described, while entirely satisfactory for the purpose for which they are chiefly designed, that is, to permit a female invalid lying on her side in bed to urinate without disturbing her position, are not well adapted for use when the patient is lying on her back. For this reason I have shown in Figs. 5 and 6 another modification of the invention which may be used not only when the invalid is lying on one side or the other, but also when she is prone on her back. In this type the main member is similar in most respects to those before described and is designated generally by 2". It has in one side thereof an opening 3 which is also similar to that shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and has its side and end walls preferably similarly formed. These side and end walls are designated by the same reference characters as in Figs. 1 and 2. In this type of the device, however, the opening? extends preferably to one extreme end of the straight portion or main element 2". From this point the urinal is preferably so formed as to have a lateral extension, such as 2 This eX- tension in the construction illustrated has its outlet at practically a right angle to the main portion 2 of the utensil. While this extension may be located in various positions lengthwise of the urinal with respect to the lower end of the opening 3, it is desirable that the lower edge 8 of the discharge opening be but slightly lower than the lower edge 6 of the opening 3. The reason for this is that this type of urinal when in use will be in a practically vertical position when the patient is lying on her back, and as the height of the point 6 above the bed on which the patient lies is determined by the position of the lower edge of the vulva with respect thereto, it is important that the point 8 be kept fairly close to the point 6 measured lengthwise of the urinal in order that when the utensil discharges directly into a suitable vessel the distance between the point 8 and the sheet may be suflicient to permit such vessel to be placed under the discharge open ing of the urinal.

In all of the different embodiments of my present invention it will be seen that the urinal is of simple construction and may be manufactured at a low cost. I prefer to make it of molded hard rubber, although it may be formed in other ways and out of other materials, such as metal, glass, etc. In all cases the opening 3 should be so formed as to avoid cutting or injuring an invalid in any way, and should also have internal fiowage channels, such as 7, for assuring retention of urine within the utensil and suitable passages or conduits for guiding the urine within the utensil and preventing any flowage toward the outside of the urinal at the edges of the opening 3. By forming the urinal in various sizes with different lengths and widths of opening it may be made to fit snugly in all cases and adapted for use under practically all conditions met with in nursing female invalids.

What I claim is:

1. A female urinal relatively long and narrow and having in one side thereof a long inlet slot and also having internal guidechannels adjacent to the long edges of said slot, and also having an outlet opening.

2. A portable tubular female urinal having outlet openings at both ends and also having in one side a long inlet slot.

3. A portable tubular female urinal having an outlet opening at one end and also having in one side a long inlet slot with inturned rounded edges.

at. A portable tubular female urinal having an outlet opening at one end and also having in one side a long inlet slot the bounding edges of which curve depthwise of the slot.

5. A portable tubular female urinal having an outlet opening at one end and also having in one side a long inlet slot the bounding edges of which are curved lengthwise, crosswise and depthwise of the slot.

6. A portable female urinal comprising a relatively long and narrow body portion having in one side thereof a long inlet slot, and a lateral extension having an outlet opening.

7. A female urinal comprising a relatively long and narrow body portion having in one side thereof a long inlet portion and also having internal guide-channels adjacent to the long edges of said slot, and a lateral extension having an outlet opening.

8. A portable tubular female urinal comprising a main element having a long inlet slot in one side thereof, and a lateral extension having an outlet opening.

9. A female urinal comprising a relatively long and narrow body portion having in one side thereof a long inlet slot, and a lateral extension having an outlet opening the lower edge of which is but slightly beyond the lower edge of said slot lengthwise of said main element.

10. A tubular female urinal comprising a main portion abruptly curved at one end to form a lateral extension, said main portion having in one side thereof a long inlet slot which ends adjacent to the point of curvature, and a lateral extension having an outlet opening.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York. and State of New York, this 30 29th day of May, A. D. 1908.

MABEL MASON VAN VECHTEN.

Witnesses MABLE SHAW, R. CHAMPION. 

